KTAR.com – Medical marijuana proposition stirs spirited debate

PHOENIX — A spirited debate has developed over a medical marijuana proposition on Arizona’s Nov. 2 general election ballot.

Proposition 203 would allow patients with a debilitating medical condition to purchase, possess and use 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks with a doctor’s recommendation. The marijuana would be grown and sold by non-profit dispensaries regulated by the state.

Supporters say medical marijuana could help 55,000 Arizonans who suffer from such diseases as cancer, HIV or multiple sclerosis. Critics say it would just open the door to more drug abuse.

Andrew Myers is with the Arizona Medical Marijuana Project, which put Prop 203 on the ballot.

“What this initiative will allow is certain seriously and terminally ill patients, with a very distinct list of medical conditions, to get a recommendation from their physician to use medical marijuana,” said Myers.

He emphasized a recommendation is different from a prescription “because marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 substance by the FDA so it cannot be legally prescribed.”

Marijuana can help patients with HIV or AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s Disease, glaucoma and severe and chronic pain.